5 major foods in our diet that affect brain health - Brain series article #4

For a change, let’s discuss the 5 major foods that are commonly consumed by us all, and are bad for brain health. We all have heard and seen about foods that are bad for heart health, but do you know which foods are bad for your brain? Let’s learn about these foods and how they affect the brain in a negative manner. In this article, I have mentioned the foods that are known for good heart health, but their negative impact on brain health is not commonly and widely known.

1. Highly processed seed oils:

Highly processed seed oils contain soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, etc. These oils are an abundant source of omega-6 fatty acids, known to promote heart health. But the above-mentioned oils, especially soybean oil has excess omega-6 fatty acids that trigger the brain’s neurochemicals to generate signals that cause inflammation in the brain. Recent research that used mice models revealed that soybean oil has a negative effect on the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body weight, temperature, stress response, reproduction, and growth, and also reduces the level of oxytocin, which helps in maintaining a good mood. Not only at the physiological level, but soybean oil also affects negatively at the molecular level, as it has a negative impact on 100 genes that play a vital role in energy metabolism, oxidative stress reduction, obesity, diabetes, etc. These processed seed oils also increase the risk of autism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc. Using cold pressed naturally based oils that have not been highly processed can help avoid bad brain health.

2. Refined sugars:

Just like us, our brain too loves sugar! The brain uses energy in the form of glucose supplied by our diet. We know that sugar in desserts fuels us as much as it maintains our happiness, but we don’t know that excess sugar or refined sugar leads to glucose buildup in the brain. Refined sugars affect memory. Margarine, frosting, etc. are also known to increase the concentration of eladeic acid in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of dementia. Switching to naturally obtained sugars, jaggery, etc. helps us avoid using refined sugars in our diet.

3. Processed foods:

Processed foods are all good for temporary satisfaction of your taste buds, but worse for permanent heart, as well as brain health. A number of research studies have shown that processed foods are responsible for capping or shortening the telomeres of DNA. This, in turn, affects the lifespan of people and also increases the risk of depression in individuals. Consume fresh foods as much as possible, not only to acquire maximum nutrition, but also to avoid consuming processed ready-to-eat foods.

4. Artificial sweeteners:

Artificial sweeteners are widely used nowadays by people who are ‘looking after’ their health. But instead of cutting calories that you consume from your recipe that incorporates artificial sweeteners, the foods that consist of artificial sweeteners decrease the gut-friendly microbiome and increase bad bacteria in your gut. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame affect the brain by increasing the oxidative stress in neurons and also increasing free radicals.

5. Alcohol:

Alcohol is another reason for damaging brain health. Although red wine is known to be healthy for heart health, alcohol in general has been found to affect brain plasticity and memory, and cognitive abilities in individuals.

As humans, we are prone to focus on what's most heard or seen on the news or social media messages, or WhatsApp forwards. Awareness of heart health and foods that are bad for the heart has more importance among the population worldwide because of increased deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. However, brain health is as important as heart health, and looking after brain health is of equal importance. Hoping that this article has enlightened y’all with foods to avoid for having a healthy brain, and made you aware of taking care of your brain health as much as you take care of your heart health.

Thank you.

- Rachna Jadhav

@theresilientresearcher